Fascination Fling
Carnival Fascination Bahamas Oct. 8 - 12, 2017
8 Oct 2017. Cocoa Beach FL. It looks to be a beautiful day. AIS tells me that Fascination is just ourside the channel to Port Canaveral, having made a leisurely journey down from Jacksonville.
We left Hinesville shortly before 10am, made our way along the back roads to I-95. Traffic was relatively light. We made a stop in St. Augustine at the ourlet malls to visit the Fossil outlet. I had a watch that needed a battery. It has a leather strap that goes completely under the back of the watch, and every time I have taken it to a jeweler to have the battery changed, they can't get the back back on it/them. So we only take them to an outlet now. Anyway, another two hours and we were in Cocoa Beach, looking for our hotel.
Cocoa Beach is Florida 40 years ago. Yes, there are some big hotels, but there are also a lot of one storey homes, and a Trailer Ranch... Lots of fast food and other places with character. The Fawlty Towers Hotel, and the headquarters of Ron Jon Surf shops. We checked in, and they had a room ready. We asked for restaurant recommendations and got a multi-page list. Problem was, they didn't give a description of each, whether they were sit-down places, or just takeout. We chose a grill place, not too far up the road, and had a satisfactory meal. The place had character.
We left there and instead of turning right to go back to the highway, I went left because I wanted to see if there was any evidence of where the Cocoa Beach Pier is. The place we went when Stephen, Alan, and Jean were here. Well, it was right there. Had I known where it was, we would have gone there to eat. Should have asked. So we parked and walked the pier. Weather was great, many people on the beach, but not crowded. Even saw a wedding party. Left there, came back to the hotel and watched baseball.
Soon, we will go down and explore the complimentary breakfast.
Later. We left the hotel about 1030, drove to the port. Lots of cars in the parking garage. we are on the second level. Paid my $40. We gathered our bags and headed for the terminal. There was a short wait to check in, but still, we were in our cabin by 1115. Quickly moved the bed around, and met our cabin steward, I Putu. We unpacked and then headed up to the Lido buffet, because we wanted something to drink. Mary got iced tea, I got lemonade. We succumbed to salad, and I had some grilled fish. We got separated in the buffet, so I finished and went exploring. Walked around the dining room and found the table that might be ours. Not all of the tables had numbers. It's a large table, which is good. I went up to Camp Ocean and picked up a copy of the kids program for the 9-11 group.
Coming back to the cabin, I met Mary, who was disgusted with herself because she had left her Kindle on the table in the buffet. She was going back up to look for it. She didn't find it, so went back out with her ipad to find reception to download the books she wanted into the Kindle app. I'm pretty sure it will make its way to Guest Services and Lost & Found, but right now the lines are very long.
Our muster station was in the Puttin' on the Ritz lounge, and then they led us up to the lifeboats. Now back in the cabin waiting for supper. Watching football on TV. No baseball. I don't think there is a sports bar on this ship.
Later. An interesting evening. We have a table for 10, again as on the last cruise, set for 11. Eight people showed. Maybe we will have more tomorrow. One lady is very old. All ladies. Menu was familiar. We sailed two hours late, reason being a medivac. After the muster drill, there was a Medical Team alert to deck 9 aft. From one of our tablemates, a lady fell in Serenity area, might have a broken leg. They took her off. Always bad when you have to evac someone before you even leave port.
After dinner, we wandered through the Pixels Gallery and I purchased the embarkation picture. We then cruised the shops before settling in the lobby, listening to the steel drum performer, until it was time for the piano bar to start up. Martin is the performer here, different from the other two. I guess each has his own schtick. He was okay. We will be back. There is a little bit of motion, telling us we are at sea.